2016 Releases

Dogisgood

Dogisgood is a Chaucerian-inspired ale made in conjunction with writer and friend William Bostwick, whose book "The Brewer’s Tale: A History of the World According to Beer" drops onto bookstore shelves October 2014.

We’ll let William speak for the beer: “As for the Chaucerian inspiration, I was riffing on the idea of a warm, welcoming inn on a chilly fall night, gathering 'round the fire to hear a good story ... and I thought of the Canterbury Ales, er, Tales. A 16th-century report on some of the beers sold in London listed Huffecappe, Madde Dogge, Father Whorenonne, Angel's Food, Dragon's Milke. Most of these beers were spiced, and most were usually brewed from a mix of barley and oats called 'dredge,' typically about 1/4 oats, and 3/4 barley. The barley was probably flame-roasted, or smoked. Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg felt appropriately medieval and autumnal, and smoked malt added a nice rustic touch. Obviously, in Medieval times, no one quite knew the hows and whys of fermentation. It was still a magical enterprise, and beers were either inoculated by wild yeasts, or with the dregs of another batch. Some brewers used special sticks they’d dip in each batch of beer to soak up and transfer yeast, brew to brew. They called the sticks, and the yeast, 'godisgood,' because who else to credit for a lively fermentation than the divine spirits of brewing?”

So without further ado, we present Dogisgood, an old-timey inspired ale brewed with oats, brown and smoked malts, with Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger added in the kettle. For our “dogisgood” we took local drift wood found here at the beach, sanitized it thoroughly to kill off any wild yeast or bacteria, soaked it in wort for several days before giving it a bath in our house Doggy yeast, and then added it to the fermenter with this beer to spark fermentation.